Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,019 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,008 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $7,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, City State Bank raised its position in shares of Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.15.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of HSY traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $176.99. 1,160,433 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,814,154. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.75. The company has a market cap of $35.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.